The Cold Spring’s Embrace

The little fish felt considerably lighter than when she first arrived, and lacked the vitality and spirit she had displayed during their initial meeting in the Upper Heavens.

Xiyue’s movements were far from gentle as she placed Su Xiaoxiao on the couch. The jolt aggravated the wound in Su Xiaoxiao’s chest, and she could not suppress a fit of coughing.

It seemed she had displeased Xiyue once more; a single glance upward revealed Xiyue’s taut, displeased expression.

Xiyue watched her clutching her mouth, coughing as if she were trying to expel her very insides, convinced that this fish was deliberately putting on a show for her benefit. Yet, Su Xiaoxiao’s coughing seemed endless, a thread of crimson even staining the corner of her lips.

The sight of blood against her pale face made Xiyue’s expression shift dramatically. She placed a hand on Su Xiaoxiao’s back, her voice grave. “Little fish?”

Su Xiaoxiao weakly shook her head, her eyes reddened from the choking coughs, looking utterly miserable. Having caused the damage to Su Xiaoxiao’s heart and lungs, Xiyue, the culprit, was naturally well aware of her condition.

Merfolk were unlike the demon race, who were typically burly and imposing. However, Xiyue, this particular Demon Lord, seemed an anomaly. Though tall, her figure was truly statuesque and beautiful, making Su Xiaoxiao appear frail and delicate by comparison.

Su Xiaoxiao was limp and listless, hunching over and clutching her chest. It would be a pity for her to die just like this. Xiyue’s palm, pressed against Su Xiaoxiao’s back, began channeling spiritual energy.

After a short while, perhaps the span of a tea ceremony, Su Xiaoxiao felt the burning sensation had receded significantly, no longer as agonizing as before.

A well-behaved and proper fish should offer thanks at this moment, but that premise only held true if the other party wasn’t the very culprit behind her suffering.

Su Xiaoxiao pressed her lips together, unwilling to speak, her head bowed, lost in thought.

Xiyue recalled the medicine left by the Ghost Doctor Gu Yan. She poured a pill from a white jade porcelain bottle and offered it to Su Xiaoxiao, who, however, regarded the pill in Xiyue’s palm with extreme wariness, refusing to take it.

Her long blue-white hair, disheveled from her escape, and dried, darkened bloodstains on her shirt, presented an indescribable blend of vulnerability and disarray, yet startlingly beautiful in its suddenness.

Their eyes met, and the atmosphere grew slightly awkward.

The little fish hesitated, as if wanting to speak but holding back. Xiyue, however, remained perplexed.

The stalemate was finally broken when Xiyue noticed Su Xiaoxiao’s lips, chapped and almost cracking.

Absurd, utterly absurd, that the formidable Demon Lord, under Su Xiaoxiao’s expectant gaze, would so undignifiedly fetch her a cup of water.

Even after taking the medicine, Su Xiaoxiao’s spirits remained low. Xiyue, seeing her grimy state, couldn’t help but tease, “You’re as filthy as a loach wallowing in mud.”

By nature, Su Xiaoxiao had a rather good temper, but Xiyue, this demon, always managed to precisely strike a nerve that offended the mermaid’s sensibilities.

Su Xiaoxiao turned her face away, unwilling to speak with her. When she grew angry, the pain in her chest would intensify, giving her a suffocating sensation, making it hard to breathe.

Xiyue thought this foolish fish was truly bold, daring to openly show her displeasure. Perhaps she should chop off its tail and eat it; it might even increase her cultivation.

Yet, the next moment, Su Xiaoxiao turned her face back, her tone quite aggrieved and helpless, saying, “I’m a mermaid! How can you call me a loach? And why are you deliberately not giving me water to drink? Are you trying to kill me with thirst?”

“If you wish for my death, there’s no need for such humiliation, nor for devising such torturous methods for a fish, making my chest burn like fire.”

****

Behind the Demon Palace lay a spring, its waters exceedingly cold, serving as Xiyue’s usual place for cultivation and bathing.

It was considered a forbidden area of the Demon Palace, impenetrable to outsiders, yet she had brought Su Xiaoxiao here.

Watching Su Xiaoxiao playfully slap the water with her large tail, Xiyue’s heart was a mix of emotions.

Recalling the earlier scene, she still felt somewhat dazed.

It was the first time she had seen Su Xiaoxiao so defiant in front of her, neither crying nor fainting, instead uttering so many accusations. It was truly rare.

Even rarer was that Xiyue had actually turned to fetch her water and fed her medicine.

Not to mention that the medicine had been painstakingly developed by Gu Yan over a long period, using many rare ingredients to create that small porcelain bottle, which she treasured immensely.

Indeed, it was potent medicine. After Su Xiaoxiao took it, she soon felt that her spiritual meridians throughout her body had become much smoother.

Still bothered by Xiyue’s “loach” comment, she then said, “I want to bathe.”

Xiyue was about to scold her, thinking her audacity was greater than the heavens, daring to treat her like a s*ave. But then Su Xiaoxiao naively added, “Not hot water, it will be uncomfortable.”

Xiyue: “…”

She truly wanted to pry open that fish’s head to see what exactly was rattling around inside.

Su Xiaoxiao’s shirt had also been torn during her escape, revealing delicate, smooth skin.

Demon-kind were always capricious, often resorting to violent methods to subdue their pets. Dragon-kin, moreover, were creatures of profound desire. Su Xiaoxiao’s unintentional actions, in Xiyue’s eyes, were nothing short of blatant seduction.

Intrigued, she thought, ‘She couldn’t possibly have Su Xiaoxiao, covered in grime, in her bed.’ After all, she was a fish. The wooden tub was too small, not to her liking. If she were to thrash about wildly again, the bruises on her chest hadn’t even faded yet. If she failed to control her strength, Su Xiaoxiao truly would die this time. To get the fish clean and into bed sooner, Xiyue, without much thought, brought her to her private cold spring.

Su Xiaoxiao unreservedly revealed her true form, her large tail, completely unguarded. Xiyue gazed at her, thinking that the remaining bit of cultivation might just be enough for her to fully transform.

After swimming for a while, Su Xiaoxiao suddenly stopped again, her small face crumpled into a frown as she looked at Xiyue. “My tail hurts so much.”

Xiyue stood by, arms crossed, her expression still cold and indifferent, paying her no mind.

Su Xiaoxiao lowered her head to examine it herself. A moment later, she realized, murmuring, “My scales have fallen off.”

Several scales had fallen off the part where her injured foot had transformed into a tail. Bald patches, naturally, hurt. Su Xiaoxiao clutched her tail and licked it, seemingly forgetting the formidable Demon Lord still standing nearby.

“Splash!”

Water splashed everywhere, and she turned to see Xiyue had also entered the water.

In the South Sea, it was common for her kinsfolk to play in the water together. Su Xiaoxiao often played hide-and-seek with them in the water, and recalling those days now brought her a sense of joy. However, Su Xiaoxiao believed she and Xiyue had not reached such an intimate relationship. Thus, after Xiyue entered the water, Su Xiaoxiao swam to the side, wanting to maintain her distance.

How could Xiyue not discern her subtle intentions? She chided her in a low voice, “Come here.”

Su Xiaoxiao shook her head. ‘Anyone who went over would be a fool.’

Xiyue was too disinclined to waste words negotiating with her. Her true form, manifested beneath the water, instantly threatened to fill the entire cold spring. With no escape, Su Xiaoxiao was swiftly enveloped by the蛟龙’s long tail, falling instantly into Xiyue’s embrace.

In another sense, the dragon’s tail shared similarities with that of a snake, and thus it could freely change its shape, which, coincidentally, was Su Xiaoxiao’s greatest fear.

The dragon’s scales were coarse and thick, rough to the touch. The dragon’s aura permeated the entire cavern. Su Xiaoxiao felt her already aching tail, rubbing against Xiyue’s, fearing that even more scales would be shed.

“Let go of me…” She really disliked long, smooth tails. Remembering the memory of being frightened by a sea snake as a child, and then recalling the scene on the bed that night, she truly feared that this formidable Demon Lord would do something to her again.

Xiyue had retracted her sharp claws, otherwise Su Xiaoxiao would have been a bloody mess. She warned in a deep voice, “Don’t move around.”

Su Xiaoxiao did not listen, and her hand brushed against a smooth, bare… tail tip? She hadn’t immediately realized what she had touched until she heard Xiyue’s breathing deepen, and then she secretly understood.

As a child, out of fear of sea snakes, she had sought advice from the elders: snakes had venomous fangs, their scales were their armor, and their tail tips were used for mating. She certainly hadn’t thought that the thing that had entered her body that night…

She dared not move again, but it was already too late.

Xiyue reached out, stroking Su Xiaoxiao’s large tail, her deep, seductive voice filled with enchantment. “You said your tail hurt just now. Where is it? Let me take a look.”

‘Anyone who believed that would be a fool.’

Su Xiaoxiao shook her head like a rattle-drum, her tone unable to conceal her terror. “I… I don’t feel any pain now.”

Xiyue’s hand was much larger than her small one, and though beautiful, it was also so cold.

A mermaid’s tail was extremely sensitive. Xiyue merely touched it lightly, and Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but tremble. This reaction seemed to greatly please Xiyue.

She intensified her actions, exhaling a draconic breath as she spoke, “I’ve heard that merfolk have a scale beneath their belly that retracts when aroused, revealing a hidden sensitive spot. Where is it?”

Su Xiaoxiao shook her head. The memory of her first experience still filled her with dread. The dragon’s scales were simply too hard; even a light brush of the tail against her made Su Xiaoxiao wince in pain.

Xiyue caressed her tail, her tone slightly firmer. “I asked you a question.”

“I don’t want to!” Su Xiaoxiao grew anxious. Even disregarding the pain, she tried to get off Xiyue.

Her intentions, however, had long been seen through by the other party. The human hand that had been pressing against her tail suddenly transformed into sharp claws. The sudden surge of pain made Su Xiaoxiao bury her head in the water in fear, checking whether Xiyue had pierced her tail.

Despite the pain, her tail was fine. Su Xiaoxiao’s emotions became agitated, and a faint burning sensation again arose in her chest. She was terrified, yet she also knew that she truly could not escape this ordeal.

Su Xiaoxiao negotiated with her in a trembling voice, “Don’t entwine me with your tail, don’t use…”